NRL 2020: Cooper Johns, Melbourne Storm v Penrith Panthers
Cooper Johns headlines a crop of emerging Storm and Panthers stars who will face off when the two clubs stage the first match specifically for their fringe players.
NRL
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Penrith and Melbourne will become the first two clubs to organise a match specifically for their fringe players — some of which haven't played for almost three months.
The first interclub hitout of its kind will kick-off at the Panthers Academy at 4pm on Friday — only a few hours before Ivan Cleary and Craig Bellamy's NRL sides meet at 7.55pm at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
The seven-a-side game will feature those players from Penrith and Melbourne outside their 21-man roster and who have been unable to play any footy as a result of the cancellation of the NSW Canterbury Cup and Queensland Intrust Super Premiership.
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Penrith are likely to select their next crop of players who are ready for NRL, but haven't been used to date including the likes of Tyrone May, Mitch Kenny, Spencer Leniu and Kaide Ellis.
The Storm are expected to give Cooper Johns, Sandor Earl, Albert Vete, Chris Lewis, Isaac Lumelume and Nicho Hynes some valuable game time.
The hitout was given the green light after being approved by ARL Commission and NRL head of football Graham Annesley.
It will be filmed for judiciary purposes and refereed by NRL match official, Todd Smith.
The Panthers Academy was chosen because it's considered a COVID-19 “clean zone” where only the players and staff inside Penrith's bubble have frequented.
The match is the only one of its kind this weekend with the NRL happy to consider other clubs hosting similar interclub matches.
“It will vary from club to club depending on how many players are available,” Annesley said.
“They can only use players who have been within their 50-person bubble, they can't get players from the outside.
“As I said, it may not be a weekly thing due to the availability of players, but it's a positive first step for those players who can use the match for some much-needed game time.”
Originally published as NRL 2020: Cooper Johns, Melbourne Storm v Penrith Panthers